The House of Hunters
by Sir Chewy
Summary: The Eliksni civilization has fallen, and the Great Machine had left them. Eliksni from all over their once great civilization began to chase after the Great Machine to reclaim it, except for one group. A group lead by a renowned hunter named Kaephis has different ideas on how the Eliksni should continue their lives.
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

The Eliksni had been on the run from a dark force for years. Once they had been blessed by the power of the Great Machine, a large spherical entity that had once terraformed many of the Eliksni's worlds, and even granted them longer life.

But in an event known as the Whirlwind, the Eliksni civilization was torn apart by dark forces seemingly infinite in number. They had arrived on ships that were pyramidal in shape and slaughtered the Eliksni people until the Great Machine vanished from the skies of their homeworld.

The Eliksni panicked, and some were able to track its movements. The once few Houses of the Eliksni civilization split up into many; all following the Great Machine in an attempt to reclaim it. But not all Houses were this way.

A young Eliksni named Kaephis was a renowned hunter in his time, and fought bravely against the forces of the darkness during the Whirlwind.

Kaephis knew that the Great Machine left them because it didn't want them. He didn't bother tracking it down like others did, he would gather strength first and restore the Eliksni to their old selves.

He gathered a group of like-minded Eliksni and set out, raiding and pillaging; hunting for whatever resources they could gather. Kaephis figured that by building power the Great Machine would want them back.

So that's what he did.

* * *

_Author's note: This is going to be a story that I will continuously update while I work on the larger stories like Fall of Light and Rise of the Scorn. There will be a third story coming out later this year._


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

KARDOS

EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM, MILKY WAY

A broken Ketch crashed into the barren muddy planes of Kardos, and two more Ketches followed it from above.

"You said our ships were properly maintained," Kaephis said to Vais.

"Ahh, all except that one," Vais replied, scratching his neck.

Kardos was a seemingly empty planet long away from the Eliksni homeworld, but Kaephis knew there was more there than they could see. He had heard from a passing trader that this planet was home to a spacefaring species known as the Karsch, and if they were spacefaring then they had technology worth taking.

Kaephis turned away from Vais and looked back.

"Eskar!" he called.

An Eliksni that was a bit larger than Vais stomped down the bridge's catwalk. Eskar was appointed as the Archon of the House of Hunters, and would soon serve their Prime Servitor. Whenever Vais got around to finishing it.

"Yes Kaephis?" Eskar said as he approached.

"I want you at the head of a scouting party," Kaephis ordered, "also find some engineers and get them down to Ardris-Fel."

Eskar nodded and immediately ran towards the bridge exit. He was a good Archon, always following orders no matter what they are, and sometimes even adding his own spin to certain objectives. He was always eager to get to work as well.

"Someone get me communications with Ardris," Kaephis ordered his bridge officers, "and land the ships next to Ardris-Fel."

Huntership Kaephis-Fel and Faltris-Fel lowered from the clouds and landed in the mud on either side of Ardris-Fel.

"Anything else sir?" Vais asked Kaephis as the ship touched down.

"Please go with the engineering team," Kaephis replied.

"Very well."

Vais nodded and exited the bridge.

* * *

This is Kaephis. He had spent years on the Eliksni homeworld providing food for the House of Kings long before the Great Machine's arrival. The Eliksni were primitive back then, still fighting amongst themselves over resources and land.

During the Whirlwind he was one of the only Eliksni who witnessed the last stand of Chelchis, Kell of Stone, who died at the hands a large monstrous being, with a tall sword and large wings, and survived.

He always looked up to the Kells of his time, always aspiring to become the leader of his House. But that would never come as the Eliksni split up and ran whimpering after the Great Machine, the only thing that they held dear.

Kaephis didn't want to follow the Great Machine. He saw the chance to recruit like minded Eliksni to his group, which he soon named the House of Hunters after his old occupation.

Finally where Kaephis aspired to be, he acted and shaped his house into something a younger version of him would only dream of having. But leadership does come with a cost. The burden of losing life, the expectancy of his subordinates to do everything and know everything.

But he would remain strong. For years he had remained strong, and for many more years to come he will continue to remain strong.

* * *

THE EDGE

KARDOS, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM

A Skiff flew over the barren planes of Kardos until the slightest sign of civilization. The Skiff swiftly lowered and dropped off its compliment of scouts.

Rhetiks climbed up a hill of mud, almost sliding back down when he reached the top. Once he reached the top he made sure he was stable and took a look.

He could barely see it, but far off in the distance was the edge of a city, it was so big he couldn't see the ends of it.

"Guess we got lucky crashing where we did," Rhetiks called down to the others below him.

"Explain," Eskar ordered.

"Take a look for yourself," Rhetiks replied, sliding back down.

* * *

This is Rhetiks. He was born on Huntership Kaephis-Fel, making him a 'royal' member of the house, or so that's what Kaephis says. He became a scout due to his keen eyesight and hearing, and he was able to work well with multiple unknowns.

His father was Eskar, the Archon of the Primeless house, and his mother was Faltris, captain of her own ship in the Hunter's small fleet.

Whenever a mission needed scouting, Rhetiks was always the first for the job. But scouting wasn't his only ability. He was a remarkable fighter, and was often seen leading raiding parties on opposing ships.

For an Eliksni as young as Rhetiks he had achieved a lot. Most Eliksni older than him don't show as much promise as him.

And whenever the time came for Eskar's death, Rhetiks was the first in line for becoming Archon. However talented Rhetiks was, he wasn't ready to take up such a position, but he mostly wasn't ready for his father to die. He cherished the fact that his death won't come any time soon, but he does know that all things die.

* * *

Eskar, who was much bigger than Rhetiks, walked up the hill, reaching the top in only a few short steps.

"By the Great Machine," Eskar said under his breath but it was loud enough for Rhetiks to hear, "that is one large city."

Eskar jumped back down and the ground around Rhetiks shook, knocking him onto the ground.

"Get up," Eskar ordered sternly, "we're going there."

"What?" Rhetiks asked, standing up, "why?"

"Tell them we need help, lure them back to our ships, kill them, and take their stuff."

"Oh-hoh I see."

The two Eliksni smiled and boarded the Skiff. Once they were inside the Skiff rose up, and flew towards the city.

* * *

This is Eskar, Archon of the House of Hunters.

Back when Kaephis was a young hunter, Eskar was always with him. If Kaephis did anything wrong, Eskar was there to support him whenever required, whether they agreed or not.

The friendship between the two had never faltered, and it came as no surprise to Eskar that he was the first pick to become the House's Archon, answerable only to the Kell and the Prime Servitor.

But that was the problem, there was no Prime Servitor. Not yet at least. Whenever the House needed extra Ether to survive, Eskar had to give some of his own. Since he was essentially the second in command of the House, he had the second largest Ether ration. But Ether rations were limited due to the lack of a Prime, something that had to be rectified soon.

Like his son, Eskar was exceptionally talented at fighting, but not always the best for scouting. Age doesn't always bring good, and Eskar's eye sight was not as it was before the Whirlwind.

Eskar often took up missions himself when no one else was available to go, and whenever Rhetiks was assigned to something, Eskar went with him.

* * *

"How do we know where to land?" asked the pilot.

"We don't," Eskar responded, "just land somewhere open enough."

As they approached, guns began to extend from the city walls. They were trained on the Skiff, but they did not shoot. They were then flanked by two smooth white ships that were just a bit larger than the Skiff. Another one of the ships appeared in front of them and it seemed like it was trying to lead them somewhere.

"I think they're taking us to somewhere to land," said the pilot.

"Then let's follow them," said Eskar.

When the ship in front of them turned, so did the Skiff. They eventually flew over a large building that was surrounded by four large flat circular platforms with other ships sitting on them.

"There we go," the pilot commented.

The ship in front of them flew down to the landing pads and landed. So then the Skiff did as well. Once the Skiff landed, Eskar and Rhetiks exited the Skiff, and someone exited the white ship in front of them.

They had grey skin, matching the sky and the colours of the city around them. Their limbs were long and spiny, their heads didn't protrude much from their body, and it was much, much smaller than the Eliksni. Eskar had to kneel just do make eye contact without having to bend his head down too far.

It said something to them that they could not understand.

"So," Rhetiks said, "how are we gonna lure them if we can't understand them and they can't understand us?"

"We'll just have to figure it out," Eskar responded.

"I have an idea."

Rhetiks made pained noises and pointed in the direction they came from with his two left hands. Then he made a motion like a something falling from the sky, and attempting to make an explosion sound with his mouth.

The Karsch in front of them put a hand up to its chin for a few seconds before pointing up and running into the building.

"Nice explanation," Eskar laughed.

"Well it seemed to work," Rhetiks said.

The two waited by their Skiff for a few minutes until the Karsch came back holding something. It was flat and rectangular, and it had an image on it. An image of Ardris-Fel stuck in the mud with the two other ships by it. There was movement on the picture so it must have been a live video of what was going on there.

Rhetiks looked at the Karsch and nodded.

"Totally worked," Rhetiks said, "I am a genius."

"Good job," Eskar said, "I'll make sure to commend your foreign communication skills to Kaephis when we get back."

"Oh that would be much appreciated Archon."

The Karsch motioned for the two to get back in their ship so they went back in. The two ships rose into the sky but none of them moved.

"Maybe we're supposed to lead them back?" Rhetiks asked.

"Yeah, move the ship a little," said Eskar.

The pilot turned the ship back towards where the Ketches were and moved forward just a few metres. The Karsch ship followed as expected.

"Take us back then," Eskar ordered.

* * *

HUNTERSHIP KAEPHIS-FEL

MUD PLAINS, KARDOS

Kaephis stood on the bridge with his hands clasped behind his back. Skiffs and Spider walkers had cables attached to them and Ardris-Fel, attempting to pull the ship out of the mud, but it was no use.

"Vais," Kaephis opened communications, "can you get the engines online?"

"_I can try, but it might make things worse_," Vais's static filled voice sounded.

"What about reverse thrusters?"

"_Yeah I'll try that_."

He closed communications with Vais and opened them to the walker drivers and Skiff pilots.

* * *

This is Vais, known to most members of the House only as 'The Splicer'.

Vais was like Kaephis, not wanting to chase after the Great Machine with the others, and he was excellent with machines and engineering. He could build an entirely new Great Machine if he had the resources.

Out of all the tech-crazed Eliksni that could have joined the House of Hunters, Vais was one of the best out there. A ship was in disrepair? He'll fix it in an hour at most. A Vandal loses a limb that it can't regrow? He'll just make a new one and give it to them.

There was nothing that Vais couldn't repair, or build. And his future holds great promise.

* * *

"Pull the Ketch from the other side," he ordered, "Vais is attempting to get the reverse thrusters online."

He heard multiple affirmatives from his Eliksni and then he closed the channel. When he looked back up he saw Eskar's Skiff coming back, but there were three more ships with them.

"What did you do this time Eskar?" Kaephis asked, reopening communications.

"_We um, brought some help,_" Eskar said.

Then Rhetiks hopped on the line.

"_Then we're gonna kill 'em and take their stuff!_" Rhetiks added.

The two laughed.

"Not so bad of an idea so long as we get out of here before they come after us," Kaephis replied.

* * *

HUNTERSHIP ARDRIS-FEL

MUD PLAINS, KARDOS

The Skiff landed in front of the Ketch and the Karsch ship followed them. A Dreg approached Eskar and Rhetiks as they exited their ship.

"Vais sent me to ask what you're doing," the Dreg said.

"None of your business Diskar," Eskar sternly replied, "we'll tell him ourselves."

Diskar had a saddened expression on his face. Rhetiks almost felt bad for Dregs, but he knew better. The Karsch that exited its ship behind them looked at Diskar with a confused expression.

"It would never understand us," said Eskar.

"Because we're gonna kill it?" Rhetiks smiled.

"That and because aliens are just plain stupid."

"Right."

The two Eliksni lead the Karsch to the entrance of the ship, and the creature examined it. It pulled out something that looked like a radio and barked a few commands into it before putting it back.

Eskar cocked his head to the side and the Karsch nodded.

"I'm assuming that means we're getting help," Rhetiks said.

The Karsch pointed at the Kaephis's ship behind them and then held its hands out. After the two didn't seem to understand it pointed at the other Ketches.

"I think it's trying to learn some of our language," said Eskar, "you bother with communicating with it, I'll be inside the ship."

"Ah whatever," Rhetiks waved him away.

Rhetiks then pointed at the crashed Ketch and the Karsch nodded.

"Ketch," Rhetiks said.

"Ketch," the Karsch repeated.

The Karsch then pointed at itself and said the name of its species. Rhetiks did the same, and the Karsch nodded. The two continued to exchange words until he saw more Karsch ships approaching the crashed Ketch.

Each Karsh ship appeared to have some sort of tether attached to it. As they got closer they attached the tethers to the Ketch just like the Skiffs and Spider walkers had. There was about twenty Karsch ships that had arrived. Rhetiks held up a hand as if to tell him to wait, and contacted Kaephis.

"Kaephis, I suggest you come down here to communicate with these guys," Rhetiks said.

"_I'm on my way to you_," Kaephis said before closing the line.

A few minutes passed and a Skiff showed up. Kaephis, who was bigger then even Eskar, appeared under it and walked up to the two.

"Kaephis," Rhetiks pointed at Kaephis, "Kell."

Kaephis nodded, and the Karsch repeated what Rhetiks said to it. Rhetiks pointed at himself and said his name.

"Qulani," the Karsch said, pointing to itself.

Kaephis opened a line to Vais and put his forearm up to his mouth to speak.

"We've got extra assistance," Kaephis said, "how much longer until the reverse thrusters are on?"

"_Give me a minute_," Vais replied, "_or less. They should be working now, just have to get up to the bridge to tell Ardris to use them._"

"Do the consoles in his bridge not tell him?"

"_They're busted. Some of them work, but not the important ones._"

"Get there quick, I'd hate to leave the Karsch waiting."

The line closed and the three just stood in an awkward silence for about ten minutes. Then Vais called back.

"_I'm with Ardris now. Activating on your signal_," Vais said.

Kaephis looked at the Karsch and raised his hand.

"Now," Kaephis said to Vais, dropping his hand fast.

The Karsch nodded and barked into its communicator again. All of the ships and walkers began to pull on the Ketch as the sound of the Ketch's thrusters sounded. Then the Ketch slowly began to raise out of the mud.

The combined force of the thrusters and everything pulling on it made it slowly slide out of the mud. It's hull was stained, and multiple plates were torn off, but it still looked intact enough to fly without issue.

As the Ketch leveled out its engines activated and it rose into the sky. Every ship and walker detached their tethers as it lifted.

"What a sight," Rhetiks said quietly with his lower hands on his hips, and his upper arms crossed.

"Gunners," Kaephis said into his communicator, "fire on the Karsch ships on my command. The ones that don't look like ours."

Rhetiks reached out with his left hand, and the Karsch shook his it.

"Fire," Kaephis ordered.

As Kaephis-Fel fired its shock cannons at the Karsch ships, Rhetiks drew a shock sword with his right hand and stabbed the Karsch through the chest. It let out a high pitched wail as Rhetiks twisted the sword in its chest.

The Karsch ships were on fire, and their hulls that were once white were now black and brown. They fell to the ground in unison, the gunners had not missed a single one.

"Load every ship onto Faltris-Fel," Kaephis ordered every Eliksni in the mud pains via communications.

"Good work Rhetiks," Kaephis said, "extend my commendation to Eskar and come back aboard. We need to leave this system before more Karsch find out their friends are dead."

Rhetiks nodded and ran back into the Skiff he had taken to the city.


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

HUNTERSHIP KAEPHIS-FEL

SYSTEM EDGE, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM

"So what's the next step in the grand scheme of Kaephis?" Eskar asked loudly as he walked across the catwalk in the bridge.

Kaephis turned around to meet Eskar and grinned.

"You know what I've decided?" Kaephis began, "I've decided I want to build a ship. A ship larger than any other known ship from our species, and more powerful."

"You're joking," Eskar said, crossing all four of his arms.

"Am I?" Kaephis asked in an accusing tone.

"Nope. I'm just dreaming."

"Are you?"

"Okay stop that."

"Fine, what are your concerns?"

"We have no way to build it. No shipyards, the materials we can get from the Karsch ships won't be enough, should I go on?"

"Yes please."

"We don't have enough manpower to properly crew another ship, we don't have the materials, we don't have the materials, and we don't have the materials."

Kaephis seemed to start thinking.

"Why don't we go raiding?" Kaephis suggested, "I know the Karsch planted a tracker somewhere on Ardris-Fel, so they'll be coming for us. Maybe we can find a system where other species regularly travel for trade as well."

"We do have some pretty good navigators," said Eskar.

"Kaephis?" asked a bridge officer.

"Yes what is it?"

"You mentioned the Karsch coming after us?"

"I'm guessing they are coming after us."

"Most likely, we've got a few signatures coming in from Kardos."

"Then we shall deal with them swiftly. Deploy all combat ready Skiffs, charge all Ketch weapons and turn the ships around."

The officers nodded and relayed the orders to the other two Ketches. All three of the ships turned around towards the direction of Kardos and they all deployed multiple Skiffs. And then they waited.

Minutes passed without anything showing up. It was quiet.

"Where are they?" Kaephis asked.

"They're getting closer," the officer replied, "they're almost on top of us!"

Three large Karsch ships appeared in front of them. They were long and cylindrical, but they were only about two-thirds the size of a Ketch.

"Looks like they aren't happy," Eskar said.

"It's not like we killed a few of them back there or anything," Kaephis said.

"They're hailing us," the officer said.

"Patch them through."

A hologram of a Karsch appeared in front of the bridge window. Its face was covered in scars.

"_Where you are going?_" asked the Karsch.

"Do you mean: 'Where do you think you're going?', or are you just dumb?" Kaephis asked, stepping forward towards the hologram.

"_Translation software not ready. Answer._"

"What do you want from us?"

"_Answer._"

"No."

Kaephis turned towards the officer and they closed the channel.

"Do you want us to open fire?" the officer asked.

"You know me so well," Kaephis smiled under his helmet.

The guns on each Ketch were trained on the guns of the Karsch ships, and they opened fire. Streaks of blue energy slashed at the rough metal frames of the Karsch ship-to-ship weapon batteries.

The hundreds of Skiffs that surrounded the Ketches all flew forward and started to tear apart the small, weak fighters that the Karsch had employed. Kaephis savoured the view in front of him, watching his House make short work of their enemy.

Once the the weapons on each Karsch ship were destroyed, and the fighters were gone, Kaephis turned back to his officer.

"Get me Rhetiks," he ordered, "we're raiding those ships."

The officer nodded and began to tap away at the console in front of him.

"If Rhetiks is going, I'm going too," said Eskar.

"Of course you are," said Kaephis, sitting down in his throne at the front of the bridge, "there would be nothing I can do to stop you."

Eskar turned to leave the bridge and Rhetiks entered just as Eskar was a few steps away from the door.

"Come on," Eskar said, putting his hand on Rhetiks's shoulder, "we're going raiding."

* * *

UNIDENTIFIED KARSCH SHIP

SYSTEM EDGE, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM

There were still a few Karsch fighters flying about, but the squadrons of Skiffs sent to raid the disabled Karsch ships were relatively safe.

"Any idea on how to get aboard?" Eskar asked the pilot.

"They seem to have some type of hangar in the top of the hull," the pilot reported, "just behind the structure that appears to be the bridge."

"Then let us go there."

The Skiffs flew past the bridge and hovered over the door to the hangar. It was closed tight. All of the Skiffs aimed their shock cannons at the hangar door and fired, not stopping until the door shattered and blew off into space.

"Good thing our armour is pressurized," said Rhetiks, loading his shock rifle.

The hangar was small, and shaped like a box. The walls were smooth and completely white with bright green lights on the perimeter of the ceiling. The doors on each wall were small, too small for Eskar to fit through well. He would have to crouch.

Eskar, Rhetiks, and a squad of Vandals dropped out of the Skiff before it flew off and another Skiff entered the hangar and dropped off its compliment.

"So how do we get further in?" asked a Vandal.

"I'd say blow up the doors," said Rhetiks.

"And that's how I know you're my son," Eskar laughed.

A third Skiff entered the hangar and dropped off a group of Vandals and Dregs. One of the Vandals held a prototype rocket launcher and aimed it at one of the doors. The Vandal fired and the door cracked open once the rocket hit. Through the door they could see hallways crossing around, all of them looked the same as the inside of the hangar.

"Get the rest of these doors open," Eskar ordered, "I'm going with Rhetiks and I'll take five Vandals down this hall."

The Vandals that were on Eskar's Skiff immediately stepped up and lined up behind him.

"Rhetiks take point, I'll stay at the back," Eskar ordered, "these doors are too short for me."

Rhetiks nodded and went through the door, and the Vandals followed him. As Eskar crouched and maneuvered through the door frame, he heard the explosion from the rocket launcher blasting another door open.

As Rhetiks came up to an intersection, he heard a squeal. He looked to his left and saw a small Karsch. It was holding a rifle and it was trembling, but Rhetiks hit it in the face with the butt of his rifle and fired three shots into its chest while it was on the ground. Then three more Karsch began to run down the hallway.

Rhetiks and a Vandal next to him leveled their rifles and fired, taking down the Karsch in only a few shots. Rhetiks reloaded his rifle and looked around.

"From what I can remember we need to take two areas," Rhetiks said.

"Good," said Eskar, "now which areas?"

"The bridge and the engine room. Taking the bridge gives us control of the ship, and taking the engine room makes sure the enemy can not destroy the ship in a swift blow. The hangars are not important, less enemies makes our job easier, and our Ketches will stop them from escaping. However we will take the hangars if we need reinforcements, which we never do."

"Excellent Rhetiks. We are going after the bridge, only problem is navigating this vessel."

"Maybe Vais can do a thorough scan while we clear the ship."

"I'll contact him, move on ahead."

Rhetiks nodded and continued down the hallway, past the dead Karsch. Eskar pulled a communicator off his belt and called back to Kaephis-Fel.

"Kaephis, this is Eskar," Eskar said.

"_How is the raid?_" Kaephis asked.

"Almost non-existent. But it will be happening if Vais scans the ship. I heard that scanner of his can get through any hull no matter how thick."

"_I'll speak to Vais immediately._"

"Good. Send me the scans once they are complete. Eskar out."

* * *

Rhetiks and his Vandals were taking cover behind the walls of another intersection as Karsch charged at them from all four hallways.

"Behind us now!" a Vandal yelled.

Rhetiks turned around at lightning speed and blasted his shock rifle down the hall at a group of Karsch. They dropped lifeless to the floor before they could take a shot.

The once white and and clean hallways were now dotted with scorch marks and bullet holes from the Eliksni shock weapons and Karsch projectile weapons. The floors were covered with the dark purple Karsch blood and their dead bodies.

"Where's Eskar?" another Vandal asked.

"He's on his way," Rhetiks said, "just wait for him."

Four Karsch began running down a hallway next to Rhetiks, and they fired their rifles at him. Most of the projectiles bounced off his armour, but a few hit him in places where his armour wasn't so heavy. They impacts stung, but he could ignore them.

He immediately retaliated, throwing a shock grenade from his belt. The grenade hit a Karsch in the face and stuck to it. It attempted to pull the grenade off its head, but it exploded before it could. The explosion killed all four of them.

Then they heard loud footsteps coming down one of the hallways. They weren't coming from the same hallway that Rhetiks and his Vandals took so it wasn't Eskar. Rhetiks peeked around the corner next to him and saw what looked like a giant Karsch mech suit.

The suit looked just like a metallic Karsch, and it was almost as big as Eskar. Instead of arms it had a rotating machine gun and a rocket launcher.

"Well what the hell," Rhetiks said, lowering his gun.

And then its machine gun began to rotate.

* * *

HUNTERSHIP KAEPHIS-FEL

SYSTEM EDGE, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM

Kaephis looked down at the holographic image that Vais was holding in front of him. It was undeniably the Karsch ship, but Kaephis was able to see the entire interior. It was only about four stories tall, and was completely crisscrossed with hallways aside from the occasional larger room here and there. At the back of course was the engine room, and an elevator a bit away from the hangar led to the bridge.

Kaephis went over to his command console and punched in a few buttons. He attached Vais's holo-projector to the side and began to transmit the hologram to Eskar and the other members of the House raiding the other ships.

"Remember that ship you wanted to build?" Vais asked.

"Yes I do," Kaephis replied, "and next you're going to tell me we can use the Karsch ships to build it."

"Yes that is exactly what I was going to tell you."

"For the ship that I am imagining, the materials we can pull off these Karsch ships won't be nearly enough. But it is a start. One thing though is we're going to have to find a place to build it."

"We could always follow the other Houses and the Great Machine."

"No, that goes against everything I've done for this House. I will not follow the Great Machine, we do not need it."

"Whether we need it or not it could still lead us to somewhere safe and steady to build this dream ship of yours."

"We can find a place on our own. We will come across somewhere eventually."

"Oh whatever, there's no convincing you. Back to maintenance then."

"Have fun."

"I always do."

Vais marched out of the bridge and Kaephis stood still, staring out at the Karsch ships.

"Woskaa," Kaephis called out to his navigator, "what is the nearest system to the one we are currently in?"

"A system that we know as Gehfek-212," Woskaa responded after typing something in on the monitor in front of him.

"Any habitable planets?"

"Can't see clearly. Though I believe it has at least two. There is something interesting about it though."

"What is it?"

"Come see for yourself."

* * *

This is Woskaa.

Woskaa was an old freighter pilot back before the time of the Whirlwind. He personally brought shipments of food, drinks, and Ether to high ranking members of the old Houses. He was well known back then, whenever he was available to transport goods he was called on due to his excellent navigation through dangerous space. He went through places that no other pilot dared to fly through, whether they were better than him or not.

Because of Woskaa's 'shortcuts' he was always able to deliver goods much sooner than his recipients expected. But then the Whirlwind happened. Woskaa's ship was destroyed and Kaephis found him stranded, recruiting him to his house as a navigator for his Ketch. Woskaa had never flown a ship as big as a Ketch in his time, but when he got to doing so he did well. The console he was placed at had a full star map of the galaxy that the Eliksni had observed at the time, and he had always wanted to go exploring on his own with nothing to worry about.

The House of Hunters was his chance to do so.

* * *

Kaephis relaxed his posture and walked up the small staircase that led to Woskaa's monitor. Kaephis leaned in and looked at the small blue screen with red marks. There were two circular marks that were the largest, and arrows around them showing that they were orbiting a barycentre in between them.

"Impossible," Kaephis breathed.

The two large circular marks represented stars. There were two of them in one system. _How could that be? _

Kaephis was never interested in space much. He never followed astronomy or any type of science back before the Whirlwind, and he thought a star system could only have one star.

"I've only heard of these systems before," said Woskaa, "I've never seen one, in person or in media. Now that I'm presented with the chance I really want to see it."

"Patience Woskaa," Kaephis said, "wait for our raiders to take their ships. Then we can leave and see the sight for ourselves."

* * *

UNIDENTIFIED KARSCH SHIP

SYSTEM EDGE, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM

The armour on the chest of a Vandal across from Rhetiks exploded, and then its head popped and sprayed Ether around the intersection. The gun on the mech suit was actually a threat compared to normal Karsch weapons.

Rhetiks heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see Eskar coming towards him.

"Do not cross the intersection!" Rhetiks warned.

Eskar stopped in his tracks and looked down at the dead Vandal. Eskar nodded and took cover on the wall where the Vandal stood before its death.

"You got any heavy weapons?" Rhetiks asked.

"I have grenades," Eskar responded.

"We all do. Hm."

"So we're all going to throw all our grenades at it?"

"Yep."

The mech began to move towards the Eliksni. Its footsteps sent loud metallic bangs down the hallway. Rhetiks pulled his three remaining shock grenades off his belt and into his hands, slinging his rifle on his back with his free hand. Eskar and the four Vandals left did the same.

"Three," Rhetiks counted down.

The mech got closer.

"Two."

Its machine gun began to rotate once more.

"One."

All of the Eliksni rolled into the intersection and threw all of their grenades at the same time. Rhetiks was able to hear the Karsch inside screech as the grenades stuck themselves to the mech's chassis. The mech's machine gun fired a single bullet before each grenade exploded, sending pieces of the mech flying around the hall. The one bullet that it fired hit the ceiling.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it?" Eskar commented.

"Well now we're all out of grenades," Rhetiks said, "let's just hope we don't run into another one."

Down the hallway was an elevator that lead up to the ship's bridge. Rhetiks and the Vandals stepped into the elevator first, Eskar would go up next because he couldn't fit with everyone else. Rhetiks examined the elevator panel when he was inside. There were multiple buttons that glowed blue, but one button glowed green.

"Hey, Eskar," Rhetiks called out.

"Yeah?" Eskar asked.

"What level are we on?"

"One."

Rhetiks looked at the buttons, there were five of them, but the layout of the ship that Eskar had been sent showed there was only four levels. Rhetiks hit the fifth button and it turned green. The elevator doors slowly shut and the elevator moved up.

"I think that did it," Rhetiks said quietly.

The elevator doors opened slowly when it stopped moving. In front of them was a large circular room filled with consoles, and at the front of the room was a large window that curved around. All of the Karsch up there were armed with pistols except for two of them who wore heavy armour and used rifles.

"This must be the bridge then," Rhetiks said before pulling his rifle off his back.

The Karsch had time to react to them, but they only did when the Eliksni grabbed their weapons. The heavy armoured Karsch were gunned down first, and the Karsch that wielded pistols did little to damage the Eliksni before they were shot.

"Make sure this place is clear," Rhetiks ordered before the elevator was sent back down.

The elevator came back up quickly and Eskar stepped into the bridge. He had to stay crouched due to the bridge being smaller than the rest of the ship.

"It's clear!" shouted a Vandal from across the room.

"Our other boys notified me that the engine room is secure," said Eskar, "now we just have to figure out how to lock down the engine room and the bridge, and blast the rest of the Karsch into space."

"Leave that to me," smiled Rhetiks.

He examined a few of the consoles in front of him. One of them displayed a layout of the ship. He touched the screen once and saw that where he touched it lit up. He tapped on the bridge and it was outlined, then he searched the buttons on the console and found a red one.

"Everyone hang onto something in case I press the wrong button!" Rhetiks shouted.

Eskar and the Vandals complied and Rhetiks pressed his hand down on the button. He heard a metallic clang, but no one was flying into space. He looked back at the elevator and saw that the door had slammed shut.

"Try opening that elevator once," Rhetiks ordered.

The Vandal nearest to the elevator pressed on the panel, but the door didn't open. Rhetiks pressed the red button again and then it opened.

"Guess I found it," said Rhetiks.

"Guess you did," said Eskar.

He pressed the red button once more to lock down the bridge and found the engine room. With the engine room selected he pressed the red button.

"Expect a call from them," said Rhetiks as he searched the console for a button that would open all of the ship's airlocks.

Eskar's communicator pinged and he grabbed it from his belt and spoke into it.

"Eskar here," he said.

"_Something's happened,_" said the voice on the other side of the communicator, "_the doors are sealed tight, we're trapped in here._"

"Don't worry. It's all part of the plan."

Rhetiks pressed another button on the console and tapped on the outside of the ship's hull. The whole outline of the ship lit up except for the rooms that were locked down. He pressed a green button underneath the lockdown button, and saw that all of the doors on the interior of the ship opened. Then he pressed a yellow button on the other side of the console and felt the ship shake.

"I think I did it," Rhetiks said, standing up and stepping away from the console. He looked out the curved window and saw Karsch bodies being thrown into space.

"Let the ship sit for a few minutes before closing the airlocks again," ordered Eskar.

Eskar pulled the communicator back out and pressed a few of the buttons on the side.

"Well Kaephis," he started, "we've cleared the ship of Karsch. Would you be so kind as to send us a Skiff to transport us back to your ship."

"_Yes Eskar, a Skiff is on the way,_" came back Kaephis's voice, "_and let me congratulate you on being the first to clear your ship. Extra Ether rations for your team._"

"None for me?"

"_You have enough Ether._"

"I know I know, just making a joke."

"_Well then good one._"

Kaephis then disconnected.

"Opening the bridge," said Rhetiks, pressing the buttons to open the bridge and the engine room.

"It's time to go home."


	4. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

GEHFEK-212

SYSTEM EDGE, LUYTEN 726-8 SYSTEM

Kaephis stood at the front of the bridge, in front of his throne, with his hands behind his back. He looked out the bridge window and saw two bright lights against the black bed of flickering stars.

"_Two _stars," Kaephis said under his breath.

"Yeah cool," Eskar said, uninterested, "are we here for any reason other than to look."

"You know, in my earlier years I've never been interested much in space, but now I wish I was. It is beautiful."

"But why are we here?"

"It was the closest system. Now it's time to hunt. Woskaa! Scan for planets."

"Yes sir!" Woskaa yelled from his seat.

Eskar leaned on a railing next to Kaephis's throne while Kaephis stood behind it. Kaephis couldn't take his eyes away from the flares that were the system's two suns. He was thankful for the window's shielding that blocked harm to his eyes. He looked to his right and saw Eskar staring as well. They stared for a few minutes, neither of them saying a word.

"Actually that is pretty nice," Eskar said, finally breaking the silence.

"Kaephis!" Woskaa called.

Kaephis stood tall and walked back out from behind his throne. He walked in front of his throne and stared up at Woskaa's station, eagerly awaiting his navigator's report.

"Well, there are multiple planets, none of which are habitable," Woskaa said, "however, there are some planets that won't kill us simply by being there. If we just keep our suits pressurized we can survive until we create buildings with their own atmospheres."

"I think we're on to something," Kaephis responded, "maybe we could just stay in this system forever, mining away at planets and creating a home base, cities we can live in without the fear of the Deep or the other Houses. And even the shipyard that will construct the flagship of my dreams."

"With all due respect Kaephis," Eskar added, "that is going to take a damn long time."

"And while we are not in danger we have all the time in the galaxy."

* * *

TWILIGHT CRATER

GEHFEK-212 ALPHA I, LUYTEN 726-8 SYSTEM

Kaephis had sent Kaephis-Fel, Ardris-Fel, and the three disabled Karsch ships to the planet closest to them which they had designated 'Alpha' to scan the surface. The planet was a gas giant, but it had a moon that was tidally locked to the planet, so if they set up anything on the moon it would have to be in between the dark and light sides.

A Skiff had lowered to the surface of the planet and two Dregs and a Vandal dropped out. All of them had pressurized suits. The ground sank in a bit at their feet whenever they stepped, but when they looked around they didn't see their footprints.

"This is a strange place," said one of the Dregs, Diskar.

"It's cold," said the other Dreg, Ralkaa.

"Quiet," said the Vandal, Pelskis, "no one asked for your comments."

The Dregs looked down in shame. None of them would regain their honour trudging around on some planet that no one has ever been to or even seen.

* * *

Diskar lost his arms and was demoted to Dreg when he allowed a group of Hunters to get killed when they were running away from the Deep after the Whirlwind had occurred. He was only thinking about himself at the time and saved his own life by letting others die. After he had realized what he had done he began regretting his decision, and continued to regret it all his life.

Ralkaa was born on Ardris-Fel, and he was born an outcast from the start. He was a mistake and his parents did anything in their power to make his life miserable. They lied about all of his actions, and even docked him themselves. Ralkaa was born into a miserable life and was positive that he would never recover, but no member of the House cared except for himself. Or so he thought.

Pelskis was simply some generic Vandal who had been a member of the House since its creation. She was given some privileges of a Captain, but was never fully promoted to one. All Pelskis wanted was to be a Captain, but all she needed before her promotion was patience.

* * *

"Sorry," said Ralkaa.

"Did I not just tell you to shut up?" Pelskis turned around and sneered.

Ralkaa sighed. Even apologizing for speaking out of turn got him yelled at. Neither the Dregs nor the Vandal even knew what they were looking for at the edge of the massive crater. They were simply walking around it.

"There definitely isn't any life on this rock," Pelskis said into a communicator connected to Kaephis.

"_You think you can find a way down into that crater?" _Kaephis asked.

"I'll call the Skiff."

"_What was that? You're breaking-._"

The wind on the moon began to pick up. Frost formed on the pressurized armour of the three Eliksni and it became harder to move. Their view also became very foggy, so it was almost impossible to see anything. Seeing even a metre in front of them was a challenge. Pelskis lost the connection to Kaephis and attempted to contact the Skiff that dropped them off, but there was no luck. Hopefully Kaephis would launch another Skiff to rescue them.

Pelskis pulled a grenade off her belt and slammed it down into the ground, arming it and setting its count down to as high as it could go. Pelskis didn't even warn the Dregs and ran off in the opposite direction. They looked towards where she once stood and saw the blue light of a shock grenade.

"Of course she wouldn't warn us," said Ralkaa before he grabbed Diskar and the two ran after Pelskis.

The grenade exploded before they could reach her, and it threw them onto the ground. The explosion didn't harm them or damage their armour, but the force of it threw them forward. When Ralkaa tried to stand up he saw the barrel of a shock rifle in his face.

"Get the hell up or I blast you right here," Pelskis ordered.

Ralkaa jumped to his feet and Diskar followed. Pelskis walked back to the crater that her grenade had left in the ground. Any other planet, and the grenade wouldn't have even made a dent, but the surface of this planet wasn't normal. The grenade made a massive hole in the ground, a hole which Pelskis slid into to shield herself from the cold and the wind, and the two Dregs made the mistake of following her.

"Just what do you two think you're doing?" Pelskis asked with anger in her voice.

"We can't stay out here," Diskar complained, "where are we supposed to go?"

"The crater, smooth brain."

The Dregs looked at each other, both of their faces were filled with confusion and distress. How were they going to get in and out of the crater? The sides were extremely steep, and the ground was smooth so they could easily slip.

"Go you idiots!" Pelskis yelled.

The two Dregs scrambled out of the crater and back into the wind. Ralkaa turned toward where he thought Diskar was standing and saw the glow of blue lights on Diskar's pressurized helmet. Neither of them could see very far in front of them.

"Do you know where the crater is!?" Ralkaa shouted over the wind.

"No idea!" Diskar shouted back.

"You think Pelskis can hear us!?"

"Maybe if we shout louder she will!"

"Okay! I have an idea!"

Ralkaa examined the ground underneath him and saw a rock. It was heavy, light enough for him to carry and throw, and strong enough to rupture a pressurized suit.

"You're gonna kill her aren't you?" Diskar asked as he moved closer to Ralkaa.

"She is a symbol of everything wrong with the Eliksni," Ralkaa said, "it has to be done."

"You realize Kaephis will have both our heads for this right?"

"You realize using this rock will make it look like an accident right?"

"Oh I see. But I'm gonna stand as far away from you as I can without getting lost while you do this."

"Understandable."

Ralkaa clutched the rock with his two hands and held it against his chest as he walked back to the hole that Pelskis had put in the planet's surface. He saw the blue lights on the back of Pelskis's armour through the dark fog.

"Who's is that? I told you to go to the crater!" Pelskis yelled.

"We couldn't find it!" Ralkaa shouted back.

He looked behind him and saw Diskar standing far back, though he could tell Diskar was watching him. He turned back towards Pelskis and she stood up.

"You damn rotten good for nothing Dregs," Pelskis said, slowly approaching Ralkaa. "If I was allowed to I would kill you two right out here and no one would notice or care. Lucky for you my respect and love for this House and the Eliksni is holding me back."

"It won't be holding you back for long," Ralkaa said, relaxing his grip on the rock.

"What?"

Ralkaa pulled his hand back and hurled the rock straight into Pelskis's face. The impact of the rock cracked the faceplate of her helmet. Ether began to flow out of the crack in her helmet. She covered the crack with her upper hands and held onto her neck with her lower two.

"Damn you Ralkaa," she wheezed, "no wonder no one loves you."

Pelskis fell forward and her body sank into the ground. She wasn't moving. Ralkaa dragged her body and threw it into the hole.

"Diskar!" Ralkaa shouted at the top of his lungs, "get over here!"

He saw the lights begin to move. Diskar trudged through the wind and approached Ralkaa.

"It's done," Ralkaa said, "get in the hole."

To Ralkaa's surprise, Diskar didn't complain about having to be in the hole with Pelskis. Diskar laid down next to her dead body, and Ralkaa laid on the opposite side from Diskar. Every few seconds he looked up to see if the Skiff was coming back for them. As soon as he lost hope he heard a sound that drowned out the wind. Ralkaa looked up and saw bright white lights through the fog.

"They're here!" Ralkaa exclaimed.

Diskar began to get up and searched Pelskis's body for a flare gun to show the Skiff where they were. Once he found one he pulled the trigger and a bright red ball shot out of it. The wind knocked the flare off course, but the Skiff pilot was able to make out the position of the Dregs.

It opened its troop bay as it approached and the two Dregs climbed aboard. There was a Vandal waiting for them inside.

"Where is Pelskis?" the Vandal sternly asked.

Diskar looked at Ralkaa.

"The wind carried something and it hit her helmet," Ralkaa explained, "she's just out there if you want to get her body."

"Idiots. You are supposed to take her body. You are staying out there until you get it aboard."

The two Dregs complied and jumped back out of the troop bay. They looked around to find the blue lights on the back of Pelskis's armour, but they were unable to find it. The fog then started to clear, and the freezing cold that the Dregs felt through their armour began to grow warm. They were able to clearly see the hole where Pelskis's body lay. Ralkaa looked up and was able to see the two far away suns.

Diskar grabbed Pelskis's legs and Ralkaa grabbed her arms. They lifted her body up and slowly carried it back to the Skiff.

"Kaephis will not be happy," said the Vandal upon seeing her dead body.

Her once bright blue eyes were now black, there was a hole with cracks around it in her faceplate. The Skiff's troop bay closed and it began to lift away from the planet. As Ralkaa saw Kaephis-Fel getting closer from the Skiff's view screens he knew that the death of Pelskis wasn't the only thing he won't be happy about.

* * *

HUNTERSHIP KAEPHIS-FEL

GEHFEK-212 ALPHA, LUYTEN 726-8 SYSTEM

"We can make it work," Kaephis said after Ralkaa's report.

"What?" Ralkaa asked in disbelief.

"Think of the bright side young Dreg, if anyone comes after us we will have those storms to protect us. If we put a base there we can just start off by making defensive measures, such as shields for asteroids and heat generators to use during those storms."

"Sir if I may object, building those with the weather conditions will be hell."

"Yes, building it will not be the easiest task we will undertake, but it will prove to be great in the long run. We will build our main base within the crater and our shipyard on the outside of it."

"I understand now sir, but there is one more thing to talk about. The death of Pelskis."

Kaephis stood tall and stared Ralkaa in the eyes. That was when Ralkaa felt a rush of fear. He did not feel guilty for what he had done, but he didn't know how he would feel if anyone found out.

"Her death," Kaephis began, "is not that big of an issue. Not to me at least. Of course she will be missed by those close to her, but secretly I couldn't give a damn about it. To me she was an annoyance and killing her did me a favour."

"Killing her?" Ralkaa blurted out, "how, ah, how did you know?"

"It's obvious you were behind her death. You two have worked closely for a long time and she was always as hard on you as she possibly could be. I know you were disgraced for no good reason, so I would like to give you purpose."

The door to the room they were in opened and two Vandals stepped in.

"Lorik, Eskis, cast off his docking caps," Kaephis said with a loud voice, making sure all in the room could hear.

Lorik and Eskis were there for Ralkaa's docking when he wasn't more than a few years old. He didn't know how they felt about him, but he assumed they were only acting on the orders they were given. Even now their eyes betrayed no emotion as they accessed the panels that kept the caps on his lower arms in place.

After a few seconds the docking caps fell off his body, revealing the stubs of the lower arms he once had. The caps landed on the ground with a loud thump.

"Do not mention a word of what we talked about to your friend Diskar," Kaephis said, "Pelskis was an annoyance to me, but he doesn't need to know that."

"Yes my Kell," Ralkaa bowed before his Kell, "thank you."

Kaephis nodded and he motioned for Ralkaa to exit the room. Diskar stood right outside the door and flinched a little when he saw Ralkaa.

"Ralkaa!" he exclaimed, "your caps were removed?"

"Yes," Ralkaa explained, "Kaephis knew I was unlawfully demoted to a Dreg after my birth. He helped me very much."

"I can only hope I will get my caps removed in my life."

"You will eventually. I will do what I can to help you."

Diskar nodded in thanks and went into the room. Diskar stood across from Kaephis and the two stared each other down.

"This is not good for you Diskar," Kaephis growled, "Pelskis is dead, your mission was ended early, and all under your watch. If you didn't already have your arms docked I would do it right here and right now."

"I didn't kill Pelskis," Diskar spoke out, he was telling the truth but Kaephis wouldn't have it.

"Tell that to someone who gives a damn. Get out of my sight before I cut off the only arms you have left."

Diskar showed no emotion has he left the room. He immediately approached Ralkaa once he was away from Kaephis.

"So you get rewarded and I get in trouble," Diskar said, crossing his arms as he stopped near Ralkaa, "you blamed the death of Pelskis on me huh?"

"I did not!" Ralkaa exclaimed, defending his innocence in telling the truth, "even if I had blamed you I would not have gotten my caps removed. I was docked at an age when I didn't have a chance to prove myself, and Kaephis knows that. He was there. You were docked because you made a mistake, choosing your own life over a group of others. You know why Kaephis was so upset about that?"

"I did wonder about that for a time, but I do not know."

"Within that group of Eliksni was Krenthar. You know who that was?"

"No."

"Krenthar was Kaephis's father."

* * *

Kaephis stood in his usual stance while staring out into the blackness of space. Standing upright and tall, all four hands clasped behind his back. He heard footsteps approaching from behind him but didn't bother to turn around because he already knew who it was.

"I have the designs Kaephis," Vais said, waving a data pad in the air with his upper right hand.

Kaephis waited until Vais was standing next to him to speak.

"Give it here," Kaephis said, raising on of his hands to take it off the Splicer.

Vais placed the pad in Kaephis's hand and he inspected it. Kaephis had decided to stay in the Gehfek system for a while. He had Vais develop designs for a base to put in the Twilight Crater and for mining ships to gather the materials to build the base from the other planets. Luckily for them they could build the mining ships out of the disabled Karsch ships that they had dragged with them.

"These will do," Kaephis smiled under his helmet.

"Well that's good," said Vais, "because we already started constructing them not long ago."

"Remember what I told you about building things without my approval."

"Did you not just approve them?"

"Well I didn't until just now."

"And that's a problem?"

"It will be if it happens in the future."

Vais took the pad back from Kaephis and slowly backed away. His next task would be to make a working design for the Ultra-Ketch that Kaephis had his mind set on for years. He had a design in his head already, but he knew little of ship design and would leave it up to Vais. His mind was mostly blank as he stared out at the twin suns of the Gehfek system.

* * *

HUNTERSHIP FALTRIS-FEL

SYSTEM EDGE, LUYTEN 726-8 SYSTEM

Eskar stood next to Faltris on the bridge of her ship, with Rhetiks right behind the two. Specialists on the bridge pointed out levels of FTL radiation emissions around the ship, indicating that other ships had been through there recently. Ships that the three wanted control of.

"Where do you think they went?" Faltris asked her navigator, Tallis.

"Judging by the my readings they have not gone far," Tallis told Faltris, "our astronomers back at home designated the closest system to us as Urek-327. That's the direction their ships went. They have to be there."

"Then let's waste no time," Faltris said.

Tallis and the ship's pilots rapidly typed commands in the consoles in front of them and the stars on the viewscreen distorted and waved, turning into blurs as the Ketch's warp shield formed around it. Then the space beyond flashed red and disappeared into blackness.

"So, any idea what we're going after?" Faltris asked.

"Definitely a Ketch," said Tallis, "all the readings match."

"Now just to find out which house the Ketch belongs to."

After about an hour of waiting on the ship's bridge the alarms ran to alert the crew that they were exiting warp. Then a proximity alarm began to ring. They were coming out right next to multiple ships.

When the ship exited warp and the stars reappeared they found themselves literally in the middle of a battle. Arc energy and missiles from a Ketch streaked past the Huntership and impacted another Ketch, tearing and burning metal off its hull as it attempted retreat.

"That Ketch belongs to the House of Rain," Tallis said, outlining the fleeing Ketch on the viewscreen.

"And the other one?" Faltris asked.

"Devils."

The Huntership sent all of its shield power to the starboard side as energy impacted it. Skiffs equipped for combat swarmed over the Huntership and it attempted to shoot them down, only hitting a few.

"They're hailing us," a communications officer told Faltris.

"The Devils?" Faltris asked.

"Yes."

Faltis moved over to the gunners on the bridge and told them to fire at the Rain ship and disable it before going to accept the communications being sent to them by the House of Devils. The battle on the viewscreen faded and was replaced by a very angry looking Eliksni.

"_I am Jarsis, Kell of Devils,_" said the Eliksni, "_who are you supposed to be?_"

"I am Faltris, Hunter Baroness."

"_Ah yes, the Hunters. Those who think the Great Machine is a waste of their time. Leave and let us take our prize and I might forget seeing you here_."

"Well, 'your prize' is the reason we are here. You weren't part of our plan, but now you are."

Faltris closed the communications before Jarsis could say anything more and she turned to Eskar and Rhetiks.

"Well I suppose you two know what to do," said Faltris.

"Always," Eskar said, cracking the knuckles in all four of his hands.

Eskar patted a smiling Rhetiks on the back as the two exited the bridge.

* * *

DEVILSHIP ILSKIS-FEL

SYSTEM EDGE, TAU CETI SYSTEM

Eskar's personal Skiff, the _Fourth Hand_, swerved through multiple Skiffs trying to take them down. Large pulses of Arc energy shot out of the weapons of Faltis-Fel and took down three of the Devil's Skiffs, each with one shot.

"Think we can make it inside at this speed?" Rhetiks asked.

"Only one way to find out!" Eskar laughed, typing on a console in front of him and pushing a lever forward.

The Ketch and the stars in front of them blurred and flashed blue. Then they saw the interior of the Devilship. Dregs of the House of Devils stared at the Skiff as it flew through the ship's Skiff bay at a very high speed.

"Trying to stop it," Eskar groaned as he pulled on the joysticks to get it to slow down.

The Skiff lowered and began to skid on the walkway to the side of the Skiff bay, sparks shot out as metal screeched against metal, and took a few Dregs with it. The Skiff slowed down substantially and Eskar pulled it back up into the air.

"Setting the Skiff to autopilot," Eskar said, standing up and walking into the troop bay to drop out of the Skiff with the rest of his compliment.

Eskar dropped down first and the ground shook as he landed. The Dregs that remained in the Skiff bay ran away with their arms flailing in the air. A door opened and they tried to run through it but they were stopped by a group of Vandals. Some of the Vandals kicked the Dregs onto the ground and one of them strangled a Dreg to death for retreating.

Eskar smiled and fired shards of burning shrapnel out of his shrapnel launcher. Four shards cut into the chest plate of a Vandal at once and killed it. Another Vandal dodged a volley of shrapnel, but one piece cut into its cloak and set it on fire.

Four Hunter Vandals dropped out of the Skiff behind Eskar and layed down fire on the Devil Vandals with their shock rifles. One Devil Vandal fired its shock rifle into the air and the arc bolts shook and pulsed, then they flew directly toward a Hunter Vandal. The Vandal rolled out of the way, but the arc bolts followed it and burned its armour.

Another of the Hunter Vandals fired their shock rifle at the Devils, burning the armour of a Devil Vandal away and finishing it with a head shot. Eskar finished the last Devil by ripping its head off its body. Eskar breathed in the Ether as it washed over him.

The lights in the Skiff bay turned red and all the doors slammed shut.

"I guess they know we're here," Rhetiks commented after dropping down from the Skiff's troop bay.

"We made a mess," Eskar responded, "I would be sorry for them if they didn't know we're here."

Seven more Vandals dropped out of the Skiff's troop bay and ran past Eskar and Rhetiks. They ran up to the nearest door and began to slice it open, cutting at the seam where the lower and top halves of the door connected.

"We've got boarders in the second Skiff bay," said a voice over the intercom. It wasn't Jarsis, Eskar assumed it was the Devil's Archon.

"We better get through this door before we are overrun," Eskar said through gritted teeth as the Vandals were almost finished with cutting the door open.

"Boarders in the third and fourth Skiff bays," the voice over the intercom said once more.

"Looks like we aren't alone," Rhetiks smiled.

Once the door was cut it quickly slid open to reveal five Devil Vandals and a Captain. Rhetiks drew two shock swords as Eskar and the Hunter Vandals opened fire. Rhetiks slid under a salvo of arc energy and sliced the legs off a Vandal before uppercutting the Captain. The rest of the Vandals fell to the floor with their bodies covered in arc burns.

There was another door in front of them that slammed shut before they could move further in. The Vandals went back to cutting and Eskar and Rhetiks watched their backs.

More doors farther down the Skiff bay opened and Vandals entered. They immediately ran toward Eskar, firing their modified tracking-bolt shock rifles as they moved. Rhetiks pulled two shock pistols off his belt and rapidly fired them into the Vandals, taking down two of them. Eskar finished the rest with his very own scorch rifle. The Vandals that Eskar hit burned and dissolved into fire, and any shot that hit him was deflected by his shields.

More doors opened behind them and even more Devil Vandals entered the Skiff bay, with more coming through the first door that opened. Rhetiks pulled two more shock pistols off his belt and fired both in front and behind him.

Rhetiks glanced behind him and saw the dead Vandals that he killed without looking and smiled.

"I'll get the front," Eskar shouted over the sound of bolts of arc getting stuck in his shield.

Rhetiks nodded and focused his attention behind him, gunning down any Devil that entered the Skiff bay with rapid blasts from his four shock pistols. After he killed another group of Vandals they started sending Dregs.

"I think they're running out of soldiers," Rhetiks laughed.

He heard the sound of the door sliding open and the Vandals shouted at the two to get in. The two Eliksni followed the Vandals through the open door, and they sealed it shut behind them. Once they heard banging on the door they decided it was time to move on the bridge.

After spending his entire childhood and the most of his adulthood on a Ketch, Rhetiks had memorized the interior layouts of them. Eskar had spent far less of his life on a Ketch, so he had appointed Rhetiks to lead the way.

Interior explosions shook the Ketch and caused the Eliksni to stumble. Then the metal of the Ketch's hull began to creak and vibrate. Eskar got a call from Faltris.

"_Our shields are holding and we have already taken the Rainship,_" Faltris said through a burst of static, "_but another Devilship just came out of warp right next to you. Take that ship as fast as you can, we aren't prepared to handle two fully armed Ketches._"

"As you wish Baroness," Eskar said with a smile behind his helmet.

* * *

Jarsis's Archon, Neks, was analyzing the damage done to the ship when the Hunters boarded. All they were going to do was destroy a Rainship and then the Hunters just _had_ to show up. After making a few quick announcements he left the bridge and ordered a Captain to keep watch on the situation. Jarsis had to get out of there before he was killed.

The Hunters hastily made their way to the bridge as Neks went to the throne room. He was the only member of the House allowed in without permission.

"Jarsis, we must leave this ship," Neks said as he entered.

"I am no coward like those of Rain," Jarsis sneered, appalled by the fact that Neks would even consider retreat.

"There is a difference between cowardice and keeping your House together so it does not fall before we reach the Great Machine. Jarsis. I know how much you want the Great Machine, but we all do as well, and you are the only one here that will keep us together."

"Alright fine. I hear the truth in your words. I would rather die at the base of the Great Machine than here."

Neks nodded and Jarsis stood up from the throne. Explosions shook the ship. The Hunters were coming.

"I will hold the line," Neks said, holding his shrapnel launcher tight, "you must get to your Skiff."

Jarsis nodded, clearly wanting to stay and fight, but he definitely knew better.

"That's why you're here Neks," Jarsis said, "to remind me when I get too carried away in a situation."

* * *

This is Neks.

The first Archon of the House of Devils. Once a fierce and respected warrior of the Eliksni people before the time of the Whirlwind. He was commonly found sparring with other swordsmen in public arenas around each of the Eliksni colonies, but he had never been to the Eliksni homeworld.

Like many Archons, Neks became very close friends with his Kell before the Whirlwind came about. When it did come, Neks was the first person that Jarsis called on. Neks fought like hell to keep Jarsis and his other friends safe from the Deep, he would have given his life if Jarsis didn't insist on Neks going with him to leave.

When Jarsis pulled the Eliksni that went with him under the banner of the House of Devils, he asked all of them for their allegiance. Neks swore his, to not only Jarsis, but the Great Machine as well. Neks trusted Jarsis with his life, and if both Jarsis and the Great Machine were lost forever, then Neks would have no reason to live any longer

* * *

The two left the throne room along with the Kell's Guard. Jarsis and his guards went right to the only open Skiff bay. Neks stood outside the throne room, waiting for the Hunters to arrive, but they never did. _Are they not here to take Jarsis? _Neks thought to himself, _no, they must be here for the ship._

Neks broke into a run back towards the ship's bridge. As he got closer he heard shooting. The sound of shock weapons and shrapnel launchers filled the dense hallways, echoing all throughout the ship. Once he got closer to a corner he saw a Devil Dreg fall to the ground, clutching the burns gashes of the fire from a shrapnel launcher.

Neks rounded the corner and saw the Hunter raiding party. Six Vandals and a very large Captain. No, an Archon. The Vandals backed away from their Archon and went into the bridge. The bridge was well defended so they wouldn't be a problem, but the Archon seemed to want to fight him.

"Looking for a fight Archon?" Neks asked, grinning behind his helmet at the thought of cutting him to pieces.

"Oh I always am," said the Hunter Archon before drawing a massive sword from his back.

Neks drew two blades that were sheathed on his belt and ignited them, sending sparks of electricity flying about the hallway. Then the Hunter Archon ignited his sword. Instead of electricity surrounding the blade it was fire. Pure red burning fire, held against the sword by an invisible field of energy.

"Your move," the Hunter Archon said, holding his scorch sword forward with a hint of a smile in his voice. This Archon was confident, content and carefree, while Neks was enraged.

Neks took the Archon up on his offer and swung first with his right hand. The Hunter was quick to block, slapping the shock sword away with a combined burst of fire and electricity. The Hunter raised his sword next and brought it down with such power that it almost knocked the shock blade out of Neks's hand when they collided.

The Hunter was only holding his sword with two hands. The Hunter swung once more but Neks parried it with ease and went in for a jab. The Hunter slid backward and the shock blade only left a slight scratch mark on the Hunter's chest armour.

The two Archons each took a step back. The Hunter pulled something off his belt. It was a sword with two blades that were folded in at the sides. The Hunter pressed a button on the side of the handle and the blades unfolded, snapping into place at each end of the handle.

"It's bit much isn't it?" Neks said, now feeling only a slight bit of fear.

"Overkill? No such thing!" the Hunter Archon laughed as he spun the double-bladed sword with his two left hands.

The Hunter cut upward through the air with the sword and Neks batted it away only for the other edge to be brought down upon him. He backed away but the blade cut into his forearm.

"I know you Neks," the Hunter said, pointing both his swords towards him.

"You do?" Neks wasn't really surprised, he was famous before the Whirlwind.

"I've seen you fight. I've spent hours watching you for entertainment, but because of that I know how to kill you."

"Who are you?"

"You won't live long enough to find out!"

The Hunter swung the double-bladed sword at Neks, and when the strike was parried he lashed forward with the scorch blade. The Hunter raised the double-bladed sword and Neks caught the blades with his own when they were brought down. The Hunter was using all his strength to force the blades down onto Neks, and Neks was using all his strength to keep them away.

Out of the corner of Neks's eye he saw the scorch blade move. Without thinking, Neks stopped holding his the blade in his left hand against the double-blade sword, and batted the scorch blade away, but the blade that he wasn't blocking was finally brought down and cut into his upper left arm.

Neks winced and grunted, stumbling back and dropping his shock blade. Neks crouched and clutched the cut on his arm and looked up at the Hunter Archon. He examined the double-bladed sword while he had the chance and suddenly memories came back to him.

"Those blades," Neks remembered, "they belonged to me before the Whirlwind. I lost them to the Deep. Where did you get them?"

"I said this before and I will only say it one more time," said the Hunter, folding the blade back onto his belt and holding the scorch blade forward, "you won't live long enough to find out."

The last thing that Neks saw was a flash of bright orange, before he could never see again.

* * *

Eskar turned off the solar emitters in his scorch blade before putting it on his back. He walked back and through the large door that led to the bridge. Only Rhetiks and two other Vandals remained after the firefight that happened. Eskar used his communicator to contact Faltris.

"Faltris, is the Rainship secure?" he asked.

"_Yes, can you hurry it up now?_" Faltris responded.

Eskar closed the communications and walked down the bridge's catwalk to the three remaining Hunters on the ship.

"The ship is ours now," Eskar announced, "we're taking it back."

Rhetiks and the Vandals nodded and began to work on getting the ship back to the Gehfek system.


End file.
